Dubai airport traffic reaches record heights in August

Passenger traffic at DXB reached 7,727,105 in compared to 7,282,256 in the corresponding month last year, an increase of 6.1 percent, according to the monthly traffic report from operator Dubai Airports.

Year-to-date passenger traffic totalled 55,850,353 passengers as of August, an increase of 6.9 percent from 52,264,223 recorded in the first eight months of 2015.

Dubai Airports said the “seasonal rush of travellers” – in particular, UAE residents returning for the start of the 2016-17 academic year – boosted the latest figures, as well as additional capacity and new services from carriers including Emirates and Flydubai.

The average number of passengers per flight during the month was 237 – one of the highest DXB has ever seen, Dubai Airports said.

The report added that Eastern Europe was the fastest-expanding market in terms of percentage growth, recording a 67.9 percent rise in passenger traffic year-on-year in August, followed by Asia (13 percent), South America (11.7 percent), and the Indian subcontinent (11.7 percent).

India remained the top destination country with 924,256 passengers, followed by the UK with 584,508 passengers and Saudi Arabia with 535,280, Dubai Airports said.

However, London was the top destination city with 371,320 passengers, followed by Doha with 252,616 passengers and Kuwait with 240,712.  Baku, meanwhile, witnessed a 284 percent rise in passenger traffic compared to the previous year, making it the top city in terms of percentage growth.

Mashhad in Iran witnessed the second highest growth, with a 118.6 percent rise in passenger numbers, while Boston came third with 88.2 percent growth.

There was a marginal (2.7 percent) drop in total aircraft movements during the month, from 34,773 in August 2015 to 33,827 this year, according to the report.

However, the total number of year-to-date aircraft movements, at 276,233, was 2.9 percent higher than the 268,360 recorded during the same period in 2015.

The airport also handled 201,100 tonnes of freight in August compared to 207,427 tonnes recorded in August 2015, a drop of 3.1 percent. But year-to-date cargo reached 1,686,277 tonnes, up 2.4 percent compared to 1,645,815 tonnes recorded in the first eight months of last year.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said: “Consecutive months with record-breaking traffic is a great way to mark the 56 anniversary of DXB which occurred last week.

“Over these five and a half decades, DXB has welcomed more than three quarters of a billion passengers.”

“As we continue to grow, our focus will continue to operate not only the world’s busiest airports but also the world’s best in terms of customer service.”